White Oaks Weekly - December 1, 2019

In This Issue: Principal's Message, Cyber Monday and Holiday Shopping is Just Around the Corner, Walk to School December, White Oaks Holiday Store Reminders, 2019-2020 Yearbooks Are for Sale, Lunchtime Playpod Volunteers Needed, SCEF News, District News and Event, Community News and Events

From the Principal

Dear Families,

As a TK-3 school, our primary focus is teaching students how to read. We do this by using a variety of strategies during Reader’s Workshops in our classrooms every day. Recently, a colleague brought this article to my attention,” 6 Elementary Reading Strategies” by Emelina Minero, which researched best practices in literacy instruction to arrive at a list of strategies that develop strong reading skills and confidence for all students. Please click here to read the full article.

Parents can work on many of these same strategies at home. Here are some of the ways that you can read with your child:

Choral Reading: Practice reading a book aloud with your child at the same time. This will help your child to improve reading fluency and expand vocabulary.

Partner Reading: Take turns reading a text aloud. This allows you to model good reading fluency and have your child practice this skill.

Ear Reading (Audiobooks): Listen to audiobooks either in the car or right before bed. Listening to audiobooks allows children to practice higher-level comprehension skills and expand vocabulary. This is especially beneficial for students with dyslexia.

Choice in Reading: Visit the local library to allow children to choose books that interest them. This leads to higher engagement in books.

Cyber Monday and Holiday Shopping is Just Around the Corner!AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support White Oaks PTA every time you shop. Use the link smile.amazon.com and Amazon will donate a portion of your purchase to our school. Create a bookmark and make it easy to remember. If you use chrome, clink on this link to activate a redirect that will automatically take you to smile.amazon.com whenever you type amazon.com. You'll never miss an opportunity to earn free money for our school.

Walk to School DecemberReminder that this Wednesday, December 4 is Walk to School Wednesday! We will be at school to pass out charms to our walkers, scooters, and bikers. Look for the balloons to find your charm. We still need a few volunteers to help pass out charms the first Wednesday of each month. Please email Shipeng Fu if you would like to volunteer.

White Oaks Holiday Store RemindersThe Holiday Store is rapidly approaching! If you’d still like to help prepare for the Holiday Store, please come to a project party (dates below) and stay tuned for more volunteer opportunities the day of the event. If you have questions, please contact Kirsten Kell (k@kkmft.com).

2019-2020 Yearbooks Are for SaleWhite Oaks yearbooks are for sale! They can be purchased directly from the Jostens website. Yearbooks are $25 each, and the sales deadline is Friday, December 19. Yearbooks are distributed the last week of school by your student's teacher. Most teachers give the students time to sign yearbooks, so don't let your child be left out!

We don't have a lot of extras to sell at the end of the school year, so buy your yearbook now to reserve your copy. Please contact Teresa Williams with questions.

Lunchtime Playpod Volunteers NeededThe White Oaks Playpod provides students with a unique area of play during lunchtime recess. The Playpod is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays and with parent support, we can open it up on Mondays and Fridays as well. Please click here to sign-up.

SCEF News

Honey Bear TreesHoney Bear Trees supports San Carlos public schools by donating 15% of tree, wreath and garland sales to SCEF. Find detailed info online and don’t forget to download the flyer to take with you!

Sports BasementSports Basement is committed to our community. Sign up to be a Basementeer and select San Carlos Education Foundation as your charity. You get 10% off every item, every time you shop, and 10% of profits go to SCEF.

When you are out and about in San Carlos shopping this holiday season, please take a moment to thank our amazing local businesses for supporting SCEF and our schools.

District News and Event

Math Night for Parents of Students in Grades 3-5Parents, please join Susan Resnick on Dec 9 from 6:30-8:00 pm to learn about Math Strategies that our students in 3rd-5th grade are using in our Math In Focus program.

Is your student learning different strategies that you were taught in school? Not sure how to best help your child? Susan Resncik will share common math concepts taught in 3rd-5th grade, including fractions, decimals, multiplication, division, and the bar model.

Meet Susan Resnick, author of Singapore Math: Fact Fluency and US Consultant for Math in Focus 2020 edition. Susan has been working with San Carlos School District to implement Math in Focus. Teachers have been learning to bring the principles of Singapore Math to life in their classrooms to create engaged, creative problem solvers.

Back by popular demand, Charlie Appelstein, M.S.W. will be sharing his humor and practical strategies to create family environments that are focused on strength-building rather than flaw-fixing. These exceptionally positive and inspiring strategies focus on guiding all children (and especially those with emotional or behavioral challenges) with an approach that focuses on how to help your kids develop positive mindsets; how to create self-management tools in your home; relationship-based limit setting; and the effect of positive emotions on the brain. You're guaranteed to come away with a smile on your face, fresh ideas in your pocket, and a new hope in your heart for dealing with your most challenging parenting situations.

This event is made possible thanks to funding from our SCSD PTA Coordinating Council.

Sequoia Healthcare District NewsletterCheck out the latest newsletter from Sequoia Healthcare District to learn more about how you can prevent youth vaping. Included are links to resources and parents education events - https://issuu.com/seqhd/docs/2019_hsi_fall_scsd

San Carlos Little League RegistrationWe are excited to announce that registration for the 2020 San Carlos Little League season is open. Established in 1953, San Carlos Little League provides a positive youth baseball experience to children of all abilities in the San Carlos community by developing the qualities of leadership, citizenship, discipline, character and teamwork. The program is for children ages 4 through 14. Registration will be open through December 20.

San Carlos Youth SoftballInterested in playing softball this spring? San Carlos Youth Softball is a great way for girls to have some fun, develop skills and build friendships. The 2020 spring rec program is now open for registration.

Our program is for girls ages 4+ (as of January 2020) at all skill levels. Teams are formed in January so please sign up soon! Refer a friend new to SCYSA and both of you can get $25 off your registration!